Castle Glower series - 4 stars

     The Castle Glower series by Jessica Day George is a very charming story about a girl, a griffin, and a castle that is constantly changing. I wouldn't normally describe a series with the word 'charming', since that might give you the idea that it's just another 100 page kid story. But this series really is charming: pleasant, agreeable, and even lovable.

     The story throughout the three published books in this unfinished series is interesting in itself - first the Castle in ambushed, then Celie, the princess of Sleynth, secretly hatches a griffin, and finally she and her siblings are transported to the original home of Castle Glower. I always enjoy a good story about children solving problems bigger than themselves, and Princess Celie does a very good job of that in every book of the series. Also, I was intrigued by the concept the series is built around: the mysterious Castle Glower. It almost seems to be alive, creating new rooms every few days or taking away old ones. No one is sure why or where the rooms come from or where they go to when they disappear. 

     Besides the interest of Castle Glower, the characters are also fun. First of all is Princess Celie, who is a plucky girl of twelve years. She's a fairly practical princess, and she's mapped most of Castle Glower, and is always adding the new rooms to her map. Also, she's Castle Glower's favorite person, and she can count on it to help her in it's own way when she really needs it. When the Castle is under attack, Celie is the best person to help save it. And when the Castle starts to fall apart and no one knows why, Celie is the one who understands the clues the Castle is leaving for them. Besides her special connection to the Castle, Celie is also smart and cheerful even when things get bad.

     Her brother Rolf and sister Lilah are also enjoyable characters, and they're both sweet and act just like family would. Then there's the quaint, dog-loving Prince Lulath and Lilah's sweetheart, Pogue. And there's even a griffin that Celie names Rufus, which is a cute name for a griffin.

     Besides having a great story premise and fun characters, the Castle Glower series is a nice series in other ways. One thing I really enjoyed was that when Celie is in big trouble, she goes to her family for help. In lots of stories, this doesn't happen and the character has to rough it out on their own for various reasons. While there's no problem with this - and in fact, I enjoy it a lot - there's something refreshing and appealing about a character who gets some help for once. Another thing I enjoyed was Celie's sassy sense of humor. I always enjoy characters with a sense of humor.

     I bet the Castle Glower series won't build up a fan base like the Harry Potter series or Lord of the Rings, but they're still a fun, enjoyable read. Not every book has to be a hit series to be good, or even to be someone's favorite. The Castle Glower series isn't my favorite series, but it's one that I have had a good time reading. I'd definitely recommend it, especially to kids. It's about that reading level, is completely clean, and is a very fun series. It might not be entertaining to more advanced readers, but I found it worth reading and definitely worthy of four stars.

Link to author website: http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/